Beethoven: Complete Works for Fortepiano and Violoncello

Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt’s first solo recording for Alpha is made with his regular partner, pianist Alexander Lonquich. The two musicians perform Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano. These works include not only five career-spanning sonatas, but also several sets of variations. Both players perform on period instruments – Altstaedt on a Guadagnini cello with a period bow, and Lonquich on a fortepiano.

Featuring

Alexander Lonquich
Nicolas Altstaedt
Ludwig van Beethoven

Did you know?

1/7

Composition History

Beethoven's Op. 5 cello sonatas were the first in history to treat the piano and violoncello as equal partners.

Instruments

Nicolas Altstaedt performs on a violoncello made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini in Piacenza in 1749.

Historical Context

Beethoven's first cello sonatas (Op. 5) were composed in 1796 during a concert tour to the Prussian court of King Friedrich Wilhelm II, who was a talented cellist.

Compositional Technique

Beethoven's famed art of improvisation was a root of his creative use of the variation principle to expand his musical structures.

Instruments

Alexander Lonquich performs on a fortepiano by Conrad Graf, made in Vienna around 1826/27.

Compositional Technique

Beethoven's variation cycles, while based on models by Haydn and Mozart, are rich with new ideas for melodic motives, imitative writing, and nuanced development.